Idina Menzel’s 5 most special moments with Hamlisch

Idina Menzel , who performs Saturday at the Citi Wang Theatre, knows she was lucky to have worked with Grammy-, Emmy-, Oscar-, and Tony-winning songwriter/composer Marvin Hamlisch on her recent CD/DVD “Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony.” In the wake of his passing earlier this year, the Broadway veteran (“Rent,” “Wicked”) feels it even more keenly. “It was a magical time for me and to have the documentation of our relationship and the music we were making together is something I feel so grateful for,” she says. We caught up with Menzel by phone and she shared her five most special moments with Hamlisch.

1. Our first concert. At Wolf Trap in Virginia.

2. Performing at the White House. “He played and I sang ‘What I Did for Love’ and we were literally spitting distance from the first family.” (Laughs.)

3. Marvin, the stylist. “When we were doing the PBS special I tried on different dresses and he chose which one he thought was the most sexy and flattering.”

4. Sharing the piano bench. “One of my fondest memories is a general one. I would sit at the piano during the encore, just the two of us, and sing ‘The Way We Were’ with him. I would kneel on the bench next to him like I was a little girl and it felt like that, like he was a father figure. Every time I would pinch myself that I was getting the chance to do what idols of mine had done before.”

5. Five courses and countless stories. “When we played Royal Albert Hall in London he took me to a special members-only restaurant called Annabel’s. It almost felt like a speakeasy and we sat there and he told me story after story, from growing up with Liza Minnelli to working with Barbra Streisand to meeting the Dalai Lama. He had the greatest stories.”